The Cool Crime of Robbery

Famous words from the lovable robot Bender Rodriguez, however I don't believe many would share in the approval of those words. Especially not those who have been robbed themselves. A person who comes to mind would be my language arts teacher. She was robbed of her electronics, and has to go through the difficult process of calling the insurance company and getting everything resolved. A robbery occurs every 13 seconds. Therefore, a life is forever changed by this one occurrence. Having your home being broken into and your stuff stolen makes one feel vulnerable and angry. It can change a person, especially if they were home or the thought of what may have happened if they were home popped into their head. Depending on the individual they may purchase a firearm or get more locks on their doors. None of this is taken into account or shown in most shows.

In Futurama Bender steals constantly and couldn't care less about the consequences. That is the problem with these television shows. They depict serious situations in which real people suffer. The same is true of drinking, or smoking. Now seeing as how Bender is a robot and in the show alcohol is the fuel that robots run on, and smoking wouldn't hurt him at all. However all of these activities have fairly serious consequences for those around. Children whose parents smoke must undergo second hand smoke and all the nasty side effects that comes with that. While the children may be hungry at home one or both of their parents may be pissing away their already meager income on smokes or booze. Booze that may cause their father to come home and beat the kids or wife, sometimes both.

Although I know I'm being pessimistic I get extremely upset whenever I hear a friend talk about how they are often hungry. The following statement is one that will always stick with me "Wow, you actually have food in your refrigerator, not just booze.". Seemingly simple, but my connection with that person made it all the more powerful. It's also why I have no tolerance for parents wasting money on booze and cigarettes.

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